Melodious
by Senashenta
Summary: An orphan changeling is found in the woods, just a foal abandoned and alone. An act of kindness brings her to Canterlot and the unusual position of being raised by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Now, Princess Melody has a lot to learn about being a pony - and Equestria has just as much to learn about changelings!
1. Chapter 1: Canon

**Disclaimer: **_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic _belongs to Hasbro and was created by Lauren Faust. This fic and any original characters belong to their author.

**Canon Characters:** Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance

**OCs: **Princess Melody, Patchwork Dream, Bells And Bows, Splashworks, Love Bug, etc.

**Notes: **Still working on _Starless_ and _Backlash_ (formerly titled _Fallout_), but here, have one more! Just because I love the changelings so much, haha. _Melodious_ is kind of an in-between of my other two fics, in that it involves both canon and original characters. This should be interesting!

**MELODIOUS  
Prologue: Canon  
By Senashenta**

The bundle was tiny, all things considered. Small and still and silent, wrapped in dark cloth and left in the emptiness of the middle of the Everfree forest, alone to face the dangers of the night.

Not for long.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a magical aura _lifted_, and the bundle of blanket floated up off of the ground, away from the grass. The edges of the cloth tugged away—and the magic's owner paused, only for a moment, before smiling a little, almost absently. Before her was a changeling foal, young and vulnerable—innocent, still, uncorrupted by the rest of her kind and, for some reason, clearly unwanted.

Changelings were dangerous, conniving and deceitful, not to be trusted under any circumstances. They were different from the other pony races of Equestria. They were cloaked in blinding shadows and emptiness. They would strike you down without a second thought, if it would benefit them—and often even when it wouldn't.

But Princess Luna had never been afraid of things that belonged in the dark, and this filly—this _child_—was no exception.

"Someone left you here alone, didn't they?"

She knew what it was like to be alone. It was that knowledge, that instinct that had drawn her into the Everfree forest on this night in the first place.

The little changeling before her shifted then, wiggling in her blanket before opening her huge, luminous blue eyes. She blinked once, twice, then met Luna's gaze for a long moment. Then abruptly there was a _shift_, and where a tiny black foal had been was a small, perfect copy of Luna herself.

"Ah… no, no. We can't have that." The Princess laughed softly, shaking her head. "We'll have to teach you to find your own form." Then she leaned in a little closer, inspecting her new charge. "But that can be Tia's job, okay? I'll teach you games and _fun_, instead."

And so she tucked the changeling foal against her chest, half-wrapped one of her front legs around her, and leapt into the night sky to return them both to Canterlot.


	2. Chapter 1: Duet

**Disclaimer: **_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic _belongs to Hasbro and was created by Lauren Faust. This fic and any original characters belong to their author.

**Canon Characters:** Princess Luna & Princess Celestia

**OCs: **Princess Melody, Patchwork Dream, Bells And Bows, Splashworks, Love Bug, Moonshade, Trillium Ties, Shay, etc.

**Notes:** This fic will be the first one where I'm trying to write Celestia and Cadance, so hopefully I do alright with them. I've written Luna a bit before, so I'm much more confident in my portrayal of her than the other two. In any case, I would love feedback on how I'm doing with the canon characters, if anyone is so inclined. :)

**MELODIOUS  
Chapter One: Duet  
By Senashenta**

The sight of a small yellow-and-blue pegasus hunting through the Palace grounds wasn't a new one. In fact, it normally happened at least two or three times a week. The guards and resident ponies were so used to seeing her frantic search that they didn't even look twice anymore.

"Hey, have you seen—"

"No. You know how good she is at hiding."

"Yeah, I was just hoping…"

"Sorry, Patch. If I spot her I'll let you know."

"Okay. Thanks."

Patchwork Dream sighed heavily, ears and wings drooping. She was supposed to be in charge of keeping Princess Melody out of trouble, but it was all she could do to even _keep up_ with the other pony on days like this. But then, Melody didn't really listen to any authority besides Princess Celestia herself, and it certainly didn't help that Patch was more or less her best friend, instead of being simply another pony trying to tell her what to do (or not do, as the case may be.)

As she was close to Melody's age, she had been introduced to the Princess when they were young. Melody had just moved to Canterlot—she had been moved halfway across Equestria to live with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and was having a hard time because she had no friends. Patch was the daughter of one of the Palace maids, and was always underfoot, so her mother decided to be a matchmaker, hoping that she and Melody would make friends and keep each other out of trouble.

The plan had worked in some ways—yes, they had become fast friends—but had backfired in others. Melody was mischievous and both she and Patch could be troublemakers. Sometimes they fed off each other. More often than not, they continued to get underfoot—but now there were two of them together instead of just one at a time.

Despite this, those who lived and worked in the Palace were obviously fond of the pair of them.

Now, though, Patch found herself pacing up and down all the hall and corridors of the Palace, looking for her friend. This was common. Melody's favorite game was hide-and-seek, and half the time she didn't bother to tell anyone she was playing it—she simply vanished, and let everypony, including her pff, blindly search for her.

"Oh, come oooooooooon…"

It had been nearly two hours since Patch had begun her quest, and she felt no closer to finding her friend than she had at the beginning.

Slumping, she sat down heavily, then huffed, frustrated. Melody could be anywhere, and Patch was getting hungry. It was nearly lunch time, and even though she needed to find the Princess all she could think of was a daisy sandwich, hay fries and a big glass of fruit punch. And maybe even a chocolate cupcake for dessert.

Briefly, she considered just leaving Melody to her disappearing act and heading off to find some food without her. She wouldn't even bring her friend anything back. Not a sandwich, not a donut, not even a single hay fry or piece of toast. It would serve her right for being such a royal pain in the rump.

"Hey, you wanna get lunch now?"

The question came from two feet behind her and practically made Patch jump out of her skin. The voice was almost familiar, similar to Melody's but a little higher, almost younger sounding. Patch shot a narrow-eyed look over her shoulder at the pony that was standing behind her.

She was white with a red mane and tail and a red-brown oak leaf Cutie Mark. Patch glowered at her for a long moment and laughing eyes watched until the other pony's glare turned into a pout and her ears flattened sideways to match the expression.

Then the white pony disappeared.

In the space of a breath the white hide and red hair turned black. Insect-like wings flittered into existence, along with a short horn and sharp canine teeth. Holes and dings appeared in the bottom half of the pony's now-black legs—and finally, blue eyes widened, pupils fading into nothingness.

Where a normal earth pony had been, a changeling now stood.

Patch's eyes widened in shock and she stood up quickly.

"Melody!" The name was hissed. Patch looked up and down the hall, making sure it was empty. "You know you're not supposed to change in public! What if someone saw you?"

"Aw, come on, Patches!" Melody waved one hoof dismissively. "No one's around, so it's fine."

"It is _not_ fine," Patch insisted, ignoring having been called by her foalhood nickname. Normally she didn't like being called _Patches_, but this time it was the least of her concerns. The one cardinal rule of being best friends with Melody was making sure no one else found out she was a changeling. "Come on, before you get caught."

"Oh, alright alright."

Another quick flash, and Melody returned to her "normal" form—a slim, pastel green alicorn with two-toned pink-and-yellow hair and emerald green eyes. It was the form that everyone else knew her as. Only Princess Celestia, Luna and Patch knew that Melody wasn't what she seemed to be. And no one else in the Palace would ever have guessed that _that _was the reason why she was so good at hide-and-seek.

"Can we go get food now? I'm hungry."

"_You're_ hungry? What about _me?_ I've been running all over the place for almost two hours trying to find you!" Patch pouted again and reached a hoof to prod at Melody's shoulder; "and you _cheated_ and used a body I've never even seen before! How was I supposed to find you?"

"Well duh. You're not. That was the point." The Princess stuck her tongue out. "It's a _game_, you know!"

"A game? Says _who?_"

"Says me! …and Luna." Melody added the last bit as if it were a second thought, tapping at her lower lip with one front hoof in a contemplative manner.

Patch rolled her eyes. Princess Luna was forever encouraging Melody to be the trickster that she was. Not that it took much coaxing. Melody was so inclined even without Luna's amused prodding. Patch had often wondered if mischievousness was a common trait of changelings, or if it was specific to Melody herself. Either way, it was a pain in the butt at times.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Melody shoved at her lightly. "Come on, let's go eat, Patches."

"Patch. _Just Patch_."

"Sure, Patches, whatever you say."

"_Melody._"

o-o-o-o-o

They decided to go to a restaurant just outside of the Palace grounds. Melody liked to go there because it _was _outside the Palace, and it was about the farthest she was allowed to roam. Even with having lived in Canterlot for several years, Princess Celestia was still reluctant to let her wander very far.

Patch couldn't blame her, really. Especially considering what had happened years prior, when the changeling Queen had launched an all-out attack and very nearly managed to take over Canterlot—and therefore Equestria—completely.

It was practically legend, the battle for the capital city—fought by the six small ponies that represented the Elements of Harmony and eventually won by Princess Cadance and her husband-to-be at the time, Shining Armor. The changelings had been forcibly expelled from Canterlot, and as far as the general public was concerned, none had set foot in the capital since.

"Can I get some baked eggs and toast, please?"

In public, at least, Melody was polite. She had been raised as a Princess since Luna had found her and brought her to Canterlot, and even though she was spunky and a jokester, she knew when and where it was appropriate. When she was representing the royal family outside of the Palace, she was much calmer and more serious—she even bordered on regal on occasion.

Patch often marveled on the complete flip in personality that Melody displayed at times.

"Oh," Shaking her head, Patch looked up from the menu. The unicorn who was serving them was clearly waiting for her to make her selection. "I'd like… I'd like a mixed greens and daffodil salad, please, and a side of hay fries."

"And we'll share a pot of apple blossom tea." Melody added, folding her menu and handing it to the server with a charming smile. When he left, the Princess turned her attention back to her friend. "So when are we going shopping?"

There was a long silence as Patch stared blankly. "Huh?"

"_Patchwork! _You promised you'd show me the shopping district _ages ago!_"

Patch had to hide a wince. It was true that she had made that promise—but it had mostly been to placate an upset Melody at the time, and she hadn't actually cleared it with Princess Celestia first. She was fairly certain that they wouldn't be allowed even if they asked.

"Well…"

Melody was quiet for a moment, then looked downward. "We're not going, are we?"

"I just…" Guilt welled up in Patch. She knew that Melody wanted nothing more than to see the world outside the Palace, and was frustrated that she wasn't allowed. "I haven't asked Princess Celestia yet."

A frown graced the green alicorn's face. "Well," she began, "then let's ask her."

Patch hesitated, but the determined expression that was settling over Melody's features made it clear that she wasn't taking _no _for an answer this time. What she would do if Celestia denied their request, Patch wasn't sure. She just hoped her friend wouldn't throw an absolute fit.

She sighed. "Alright. We'll ask the Princess." And then, when Melody perked and began to half-stand from her seat; "_after lunch_, Melody! I'm still starving, here!"

o-o-o-o-o

Lunch was finished far too quickly.

Standing in front of the doors to Princess Celestia's quarters, Patch began to wish that she had simply said no and told Melody the truth—that all of them were worried of what might happen if she was allowed to wander the city freely. If she slipped up and somepony found out what she really was…

Well. It wouldn't be good.

At the same time, Patch could see where Melody was coming from. They were friends, yes, but Patch was able to go out and about when she wanted to, or when she was given errands to run. Melody was, for all intents and purposes, living in a bottle. Patch could honestly say she wasn't sure how she would feel if she was in the same position.

A sharp rap on the door in front of her made her jump—and she blinked when she realized Melody had done the knocking. The young changeling was clearly determined to see this through, no matter what the result would be.

A moment later the doors swung inward, opened by one of the Princess' guards. When he saw who it was, he stepped aside to allow them entry, and they moved past him quickly so that he could close the door behind them again.

"Melody, Patchwork, good afternoon!"

Princess Celestia greeted them with a smile. Patch lowered her head, bowing politely. Melody nodded to her adoptive aunt, but didn't bow as Patch had, and Celestia didn't ask her to. Instead she nodded in return.

"Princess, I want to ask—"

"I know what you wish to ask, Melody."

Melody blinked. "You… do?"

"Yes."

Of course she did, Patch thought. She was _Princess Celestia_. She was practically all-seeing and all-knowing. She was the next thing to a deity, with godlike powers and everything. It followed that she would already know what they were there for.

"Melody, you know that I cannot have you out wandering through Canterlot."

"But—"

"However," Celestia continued, giving Melody a _look_ that cut off her protests. "I have become aware of the fact that you are… penned in, here. It isn't fair of me to ask someone your age to remain in the Palace forever."

Both of the younger ponies were silent, listening in surprise. Neither of them had expected the conversation to start out quite like this.

"Therefore," the Princess smiled again. "I am giving you permission to travel. You will live in another city for a time and learn what you can about the lives of the common ponies—and what it's like to be a pony yourself. Of course, Patchwork will go with you as well. I've already spoken to her mother on the subject."

There she paused, seeming to wait for their reactions. Both of them were silent, expressions blank.

"So…" Melody began finally, though Patch remained speechless. "What you're saying is…"

"What I'm saying is," Celestia repeated with another amused smile, "I'm sending you to Baltimare."

And Melody's response was as eloquent as it was articulate; "oh."


End file.
